14 French Islamist militants were found guilty and handed jail terms ranging from four years to life by a French court on Wednesday for orchestrating the deadly January 2015 attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris.
"It's been painful, searing. It's been a stage in our mourning process, necessary and unavoidable," said a lawyer for Charlie Hebdo, Richard Malka as reported by NDTV. "I hope it's the start of something else, of an awareness, a wake-up call,” he added.
As the three main attacker ware salyed by the security forces during the attack, the trial focussed on their helpers and accomplices. These included Hayat Boumeddiene, former partner of Amedy Coulibaly who killed a policewoman and another four people in the Jewish supermarket.
Another main accused Ali Riza Polat was given a 30-year sentence for helping his friend Amedy Coulibaly's plans to take part in the attacks. Another ten accused aged 29 to 68 years and with prior criminal records but not that any related to terrorism were also found guilty.
Survivors and family members of those who lost their lives in the attacks attended the verdict hearing and hailed it as a victory for justice and freedom of speech
The globally followed trial which started in October was a revisit to what can be termed as one of the darkest chapters in France’s modern history
